I'm sure they CAN spend with NY or Boston...Angelos is just a Jew when it comes to opening up his cheque book.

The Orioles don't have anywhere near the revenue streams that the Yankees and Red Sox have - Angelos would have to literally dip into his own check book in a major way year after year to match them. They got to pretend they were a big market team for a few years because they were one of the first to open up one of the new, revenue exploding ballparks, but now that everyone's on that train, they aren't going to be making a return to the top tier of the payroll rankings anytime soon.

You're also ignoring the fact that fans stopped coming. If the O's sold out every game like the Sox and Yanks, they'd have the money (and yes, I know that means they don't have it).

Point is, they have more to spend then they actually do spend and Angelos could afford more on his own...he's a very wealthy man. And if he actually starts doing that and the O's become competitive again, then fans will come back and the O's will have those big revenues again.

Quote: Originally Posted By monkey_taint on 3/07/2010You're also ignoring the fact that fans stopped coming. If the O's sold out every game like the Sox and Yanks, they'd have the money (and yes, I know that means they don't have it).

Point is, they have more to spend then they actually do spend and Angelos could afford more on his own...he's a very wealthy man. And if he actually starts doing that and the O's become competitive again, then fans will come back and the O's will have those big revenues again.

No, they won't - not if your target is NY/Bos level spending. Baltimore's revenue position relative to the rest of the league was declining before the attendance really started to dip, and in the interim, a team moved into the DC market. Baltimore's revenue peak is probably at the upper end of the mid-markets, maybe top 10, certainly not top 5.

All sports team owners are very wealthy men, it's kind of a pre-requisite. Very, very few of them are willing to operate their teams at significant losses. NY and Boston don't spend like they do because their owners are so much wealthier than the others - they spend that way because the teams generate so much more money.

Fair enough, but putting a competitive product on the field year in and year out certainly helps to increase the fan base and jack up ticket and merchandise sales.

The Red Sox do so well financially because they field a contender every year and they have a very loyal and passionate fanbase. The O's, not so much.

The Yankees do as well, but they also have YES Network revenues, which helps tremendously.

I'm simply saying that the O's have enough money to compete in that division if the right personnel moves are made and fans come to trust the front office again and start buying tickets.

There are plenty of mid-to-low level teams that still sell a lot of tickets because their fans trust the team and its business dealings and remain passionate (or they're disillusioned fools, like Cubs fans )

Fair enough, but putting a competitive product on the field year in and year out certainly helps to increase the fan base and jack up ticket and merchandise sales.

The Red Sox do so well financially because they field a contender every year and they have a very loyal and passionate fanbase. The O's, not so much.

The Yankees do as well, but they also have YES Network revenues, which helps tremendously.

I'm simply saying that the O's have enough money to compete in that division if the right personnel moves are made and fans come to trust the front office again and start buying tickets.

There are plenty of mid-to-low level teams that still sell a lot of tickets because their fans trust the team and its business dealings and remain passionate (or they're disillusioned fools, like Cubs fans )

This is a fair statement, as long as by "enough money to compete" you aren't literally talking about matching the Sox spending (no one's in the Yankees range) If they were spending 90 million or so well right now, they could compete. That kind of spending, and even somewhat more, could definitely be realistically sustainable for them.

Of course the Orioles could still find a way to sell tickets, I never said they couldn't. But attendance is only a part of the puzzle - St. Louis is top 5 every year in attendance, but still hovers in the top 10-15 in overall revenues. Market size limits the value of TV rights and the other ancillary sources of revenue.

Yeah it means he tore his labrum and there is about a 0% chance he pitches again this year. And the only person to really be successful after a torn labrum with any real workload is Chris Carpenter. It killed Mark Prior, Mark Mulder, Jason Schmidt, etc. Curt Schilling was old anyway, but it is what forced his retirement. It's the reason Pedro Martinez went from the most dominant pitcher in the history of baseball, to crafty veteran.

I'm also not expecting good things from Brandon Webb's or Jeff Francis's returns.

Quote: Originally Posted By The Taint on 3/08/2010Pedro was very good, but far from the most dominant pitcher in the history of baseball, especially over a lengthy amount of time

He has a 7 year window that is definitely in the conversation for most dominant peak. I know he didn't sustain it for as long as some others, but his peak is right up there with anyone ... and I am a Yankee fan.